Tickle, Tickle
by Clearly Odd
Summary: Spence, you strike me as the type of person that would be ticklish..." And the battle began. JJ/Reid, established, oneshot.


Tickle, Tickle

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Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or anything else copyrighted, for that matter.

Author's Note: Hey, guys! I will admit to this piece being somewhat ridiculous, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway! Just be prepared for fluff and perhaps a little humor (if I did this right…)

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_You can't deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants._

_~Steven King_

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JJ and Reid sat together on the couch in the living room of their shared apartment. Reid sat leaning on the armrest, channel-surfing, and JJ sat next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Occasionally she would gently elbow him in the side when he started flipping through channels too fast for her to keep up, reminding him that just because he could recognize every commercial and show at a glance didn't mean everyone could. Once in a while he would pause on a show or an intriguing commercial before moving on. Neither of them said anything, but they didn't really need to; they were simply enjoying each other's company while sharing in a mindless activity. They never allowed this kind of closeness on a case, but they often indulged in it when they were home.

When Reid lingered on a documentary for more than a minute, seeming to become interested in it, JJ nudged him, signaling that she was not remotely interested, and he clicked the remote again with a rueful glance in her direction. When it landed on a commercial, he was about to change the channel again when something caught his eye.

A furry red creature gyrated across the floor in the commercial, giggling maniacally, causing the children that surrounded it to giggle as well. He cocked his head slightly and did not respond to JJ gentle reminder to change the channel. After a second, he ventured a question. "What _is_ that thing?"

"Spence, you don't know what a 'Tickle-Me-Elmo' is?" JJ asked, lifting her head off his shoulder.

Reid shook his head as the logo for the toy flashed across the screen and an unrecognizable cartoon came back on. "A tickle-me-what?"

"Elmo. You do know who Elmo is, right?"

Scrunching his eyebrows together in concentration, Reid shook his head again. "It sounds familiar, but…"

"Oh, come on; how can you have not watched Sesame Street when you were a kid? It's been on since the 70's or something." JJ said in disbelief.

"1969. My mother had decided that the children's shows were trying to corrupt me and I wasn't allowed to watch them. The puppets creeped out my dad so he didn't argue with her."

"Ah… well, Elmo is a character on Sesame Street. A Tickle-Me-Elmo is a toy. You press its stomach and it starts giggling."

"…That's it?" Reid asked after a second of consideration.

"Um, yeah. Why, what should it do?"

"I don't know. But most children's toys have at least some educational value… what good is a… "Tickle-Me-Elmo?" I mean, if it was teaching, I don't know, epilepsy-awareness or something, that would be different." Reid shrugged.

JJ couldn't help but giggle. "Epilepsy-awareness? Spence, it wasn't having a seizure."

"Well it could've fooled me."

JJ searched for an argument but couldn't come up with anything that wasn't simply based on "just take my word for it," so she simply shook her head and leaned back up against Reid, who went back to channel-surfing. After a few minutes of careful consideration, though, an idea popped into her head, causing her to smile. "Y'know, Spence, you strike me as the type of person who would be ticklish." She said after a moment, lifting her head off his shoulder.

Reid shifted slightly in his seat, but he answered her as calmly as possible. "What gives you that impression?"

"I don't know… just a hunch." JJ said, beginning to mover her wiggling fingers up and down against his side.

Shivering, Reid pushed her hand away. "Stop that, please." He said quickly, his voice gaining half an octave.

JJ grinned. "So you _are_ ticklish, are you?" She asked, dragging her fingers across his ribs.

"You know, the ticklish sensation is linked to our cerebellum, which…" Reid's supposed distraction never made it further than that before JJ launched a full-scale attack.

She reached across his stomach with one hand and began tickling both his sides and soon he had dissolved into laughter. "Stop… stop!" He gasped between bouts of laughter, attempting to shy away from her fingers, though he was trapped between her and the armrest.

Finally, JJ took pity on him and pulled back. He sat upright once more and took a few deep breaths, glaring over at her. She looked over at him innocently, smiling sweetly. "What about you, JJ?" He asked finally, glancing down at her fingers to make sure she wasn't advancing on him again.

"No, I'm not ticklish." She said with the utmost confidence.

"Oh, no? Well, I like to have concrete proof, so I think I'll just have to test that for myself…" He said, before he began running his fingers up and down her sides.

Reid's long fingers made quick work of JJ and soon she was giggling and gasping for breath. When he finally pulled back, she wasted no time in turning the tables, this time showing no mercy. He laughed and attempted to push her fingers away and slunk further and further down in his seat before the inevitable- he fell off the couch and hit the floor with a resounding thud. "Oh, my gosh, Spence, are you okay?" JJ asked, leaning over the edge of the couch to catch a good look at her fallen lover.

It was apparent that she had made a mistake in doing so, however, because as soon as she came into view, Reid grabbed her arms and pulled her off the couch. JJ gave a shriek of surprise and landed squarely on Reid, winding him. "Oof!" Reid wheezed to regain the air that had been forced out of his lungs.

"Serves you right." JJ said with a chuckle, pulling him into a sitting position so he could breathe better.

"Serves _me_ right? You're the one who knocked me off the couch." Reid said indignantly once he had regained his breath.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Details…" She murmured, pulling him into a kiss.

A few minutes of heated kisses had Reid on his back on the floor with JJ on top of him. When the pulled apart for breath, he smiled up at her. "Admit it; this was all a complicated ruse to get me on my back."

JJ smirked. "Since when do I need a ruse?"

Reid shrugged as best he could from his position on the floor. "I'll give you that one… but next time I would appreciate it if making out didn't involve tickling."

"We'll see…" JJ said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

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_Laughter is the shortest distance between two people._

_~Victor Borge_

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Author's Note: I seem to be ending a lot of my stories with making out… perhaps I should invest in a new method of closure… Until next time, dear readers!


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